Memories of Tomorrow
by Kya Kata Omani
Summary: It had been one hundred years, give or take a month or two, since the young monk had encased himself within a cocoon of ice. Through those one hundred years, the protective iceberg had drifted a ways south, down toward a village in the South Pole. R'N'R


  
Memories of Tomorrow 

It had been one hundred years, give or take a month or two, since the young monk had encased himself within a cocoon of ice. Through those one hundred years, the protective iceberg had drifted a ways south, down toward a village in the South Pole. The once great cities of at the southern extreme of the planet were now little more than wayward outposts in a vast white expanse.

However, it was from one particular village, that two persons who would, whether or not they knew it at the time, become vastly influential in the fate of the world, along with that of this young monk. The effects that they were to have would resound through tales told long after the time in which we currently find ourselves.

One was Katara, and the other was Sokka. And Katara and Sokka, had chosen this afternoon, which seemed to them to be just another to add on to a long list of similar days before, and what they had thought would be a long line of the same afterward. However, this particular day would be pivotal for the globe itself and all that inhabited it and would ever inhabit it.

For it was on said afternoon that they came across a young monk, encased in an icy container. And so, despite protests from her slightly paranoid sibling, Katara rushed across ice drifts to free the figure inside the iceberg. After several good swings with a snatched war club, and a blast of hot air burst forth from the very cold cell of ice. The siblings both stood back and watched as the figure of a boy emerged from the ice and snow, arrow tattoos upon his hands and head as well as his eyes, glowing like the celestial lights they had grown up watching with fervent fascination. Well, more Katara than Sokka. The latter found them to be little more than natural phenomenon and nothing particularly special at all.

And so, the boy's tattoos' glow faded to a light blue color and his eyes closed shut and he collapsed, down onto the snow in front of him. Once again in denial of her brother, Katara rushed forward to catch the strange figure that the iceberg had produced. She held him and studied his features with fascination. He was different than any person she'd seen before in her life. He looked nothing like the warriors of her tribe and bore no resemblance whatsoever to the soldiers of the Fire Nation, who would, every now and again, visit their tiny village, bringing with them little more than great fear and taking with them, any hope and happiness that had managed to gain some hold in the few tents erected in that part of the South Pole.

No this boy was different. It was not only his looks that made her think thus. She felt something when she looked at him that she had never felt before. If asked to, it's unlikely that the young waterbender would be able to accurately articulate these feelings so that they could be communicated to others, however that's not what really matters. What does matter is that she did have said strange, unidentified emotion concerning the boy.

And so, laying in her arms, this young Avatar's eyelids eased open, ever so slowly. With eyes that had not seen in many a year, he, for the first time, saw the face of his savior: An image that would remain in his mind for all of his days and those after. But with this first gaze upon her face, tanned by the Sun, which persisted for so long in the extremities of the Earth, something strange happened. It may not seem so strange to wiser persons, seers or spirits who've more wisdom than most can hope to achieve in their lifetimes. It may be easily explained by those who know, in and out, the mysteries of the Avatar. However, for us, the reason for what happened then has, and likely shall remain a great mystery.

When his eyes set upon her, his vision blurred and came to reveal a different sight. First one, then many, in great and swift succession. To us, these would look to be many scenes blurred together, too fast to make out, however, this young Avatar, confused as he must have been by what was taking place before him saw presented through his eyes, days to come. He saw himself traveling atop his spirit guide, this girl beside him, both smiling, quite contentedly. Not just her, but another figure, who looked quite bored, his hair, blowing lazily in the wind. This, however, was by no means the end of what he saw. He could see her wearing a flowered necklace, which he had given her.

The young Avatar could not understand how he knew this, all of a sudden, however he had little time to ponder. Faster than he knew, she kissed him on the cheek, a thank you for the return of something of great value to her. Then he had accidentally burned her in his rush to learn to firebend. They fidgeted and prepared to kiss one another in a cave, which grew darker with each passing second. He refused her offer of comfort and thanked her for her concern. They reconciled and tears of joy trickled down her face. He saw her in a beautiful gown, going to a party held by the Earth King himself. He saw himself, trying as he might, to let her go, but found himself unable. These memories passed faster.

He watched the defeat of Fire Lord Ozai, a name he'd not yet heard. The Avatar and this same girl embraced. He told her that he loved her. She began to cry as she told him that she had felt the same way for a long time. They were married. They had children. They raised a family. Gathered together with their friend and relatives. They had arguments. They felt grief and sadness. But they also reconciled. They had times of such joy, neither ever even imagined.

Aang was seeing the life he would share with this girl. The moments they would have together, good and bad. Their times of strife and their moments of victory. Their friendship and their love.

All passed before his eyes, through many, many years, but in an instant. And so, filled with the feeling of love that he would one day have for this girl, he tried his best to speak to her.

"I need to ask you something…" he managed as he looked upon her beautiful face. To ask something. He had more questions at this one point than he'd ever had in the entire sum of his life. There were a million things he wanted to ask her.

"What?" came her curious, perhaps excited reply.

"Please…come closer," he urged her in a weak voice. His eyes were still coming back into focus and he wanted to see more clearly the face of his destined beloved.

"What is it?" she asked, smiling in anticipation.

And then, just like that, it was all gone. The life that he remembered would happen was gone. One thing remained however. The thing that would set the entire chain of events he'd witnessed into motion. One question.

"Will you go penguin sledding with me?"

Why this question, we may never know. However, with this one query, Aang's life with Katara began, all at once. She was distracted from her unnamed feeling by surprise at the odd irony of the situation. However, she would certainly not forget what she felt. She would always remember that moment when she had first gazed into his grey eyes.

The reason that Aang could no longer remember what he'd seen is yet another mystery of the Avatar. We cannot be sure why this entire scene took place, only to be erased. We can only guess.

Perhaps it was that such a young boy should not have to bear the knowledge of his life. Perhaps it was because, without his memories of tomorrow, that tomorrow could come to pass


End file.
